System Change: Can We Get It Right From the Start?

Once upon a time there was a funder. This funder had been working for almost a decade to strengthen local community efforts to improve early childhood development opportunities and outcomes around the state. The communities appreciated and were grateful for this support, and the number of community collaboratives grew.

At the same time, in the face of persistent and racialized inequities, recognition was growing that something more was needed to hold these local efforts together, to harness and connect them, and to align state-level efforts with community needs and aspirations. So a call went out from the various communities to the funder to help do something about this. The funder responded, cautiously, and engaged in “listening” sessions with communities and advocates. And it reached out to some potential resources, including IISC, to explore what might be done.

After much consideration, the funder stepped forward to convene what was called a “system building” initiative. The goal was to create an equitable early childhood development system that worked for all families and children in the state, regardless of race, income or ability. And this collaborative effort became known as Right from the Start.

But here’s the thing, as enthusiastic as people were to come to the collaborative table, to take “right” action at this right time, the discovery was quickly made that not everyone was in agreement about what it meant to build a new system, or even what the system in question was. So the funder and the people took a deep breath and stepped back, and engaged in a process of conversation and discovery. This included learning together about systems thinking, networks, and racial equity. The learning was rich, and it was hard. What prevailed was an understanding that the system was much more than what anyone had originally imagined. For example:

The system is not a machine, it is alive and dynamic.

The system is not an “it” or “out there;” the system is an “us.”

The system is not just made by policies and programs, but at more fundamental levels by perceptions, power dynamics, privilege and purpose.

And . . . If we do not understand our role in the (complex) problem, it is difficult to be part of the solution.

What began as a system “building” effort became more about system discovery and evolution with equity at the center. Focus on policy and state-level infrastructure now embraces ongoing learning and the creation of new narratives to support a system that truly sees and embraces all. And “getting it right from the start” has become more about trying to get our own thinking right, constantly bringing diverse perspectives together, and leading with curiosity and an appetite for justice.

IISC will join with staff from the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund and The Color of Words to share more about this unfolding story and be in conversation with others about their experiences with system change at the GEO National Conference. Our session is entitled “Net Work, Net Equity, and Emergence: Getting It Right From the Start” and will happen on Wednesday, March 12, at 8:30 AM PST.

You might also like...

Grace Lee Boggs: You Have a Chance To Change The System from Bhawin Suchak on Vimeo. “We are the children of Martin and Malcolm. Black, white, brown, yellow. Our birthright is to be creators of history....

“In a sense, it’s not a system until it’s working for the people on the front-line, and above all the parents who need services for their children.” -David Nee, Executive Director, WCGMF Last November I blogged...

I have previously written in this space about a state-wide early childhood system change effort in Connecticut, for which my colleague Melinda Weekes and I are currently serving as the lead process designers and facilitators. For...